New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a new chargesheet against businessman Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in connection with a money-laundering investigation involving UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari, official sources confirmed on Thursday.
The prosecution complaint has been submitted before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi. This marks the second chargesheet filed against Vadra this year. He was earlier named in July in a separate money-laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in a land deal in Shikohpur, Haryana.
Vadra, 56, has already been questioned several times by the ED regarding his alleged association with Bhandari. The agency has been probing whether Vadra had any connection to a London-based property believed to be linked to the arms dealer. Vadra has repeatedly denied owning any property in the UK, directly or indirectly.
Bhandari, 63, fled to London in 2016 shortly after the Income Tax department conducted raids at his Delhi residence. Despite India’s request, a UK court rejected his extradition plea. In July, a Delhi court declared him a fugitive economic offender.
The ED had originally registered a money-laundering case against Bhandari in February 2017, based on an Income Tax chargesheet filed under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015. Investigators have since filed multiple chargesheets as part of their ongoing probe into Bhandari’s financial dealings and alleged overseas assets.
